Abstract
FIFI is an imaging spectrometer with two or three Fabry-Perot interferometers (FPI) in series for airborne astronomical observations in the far-infrared range (λ=40...200μm). It employs 5×5 arrays of photoconducting detectors and offers spectral resolutions as small as 2km/s. Resolution and bandwidth can be set over a wide range to match a variety of astronomical sources. Cryogenic optics minimizes thermal background radiation and provides for in-flight step tunable spatial resolution. At 158 μm wavelength the background-limited NEP is 3 × 10-15W/ℚHz at 40 km/s resolution and with two FPI's; with three FPI's the expected NEP is ≤10-15W√Hz at 5 km/s resolution.
The frequency-chopping mode of the high-resolution Fabry-Perot allows for line detection in extended objects. Absolute internal flux calibration ensures adequate “flat fielding” of the array elements.
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Poglitsch, A., Beeman, J.W., Geis, N. et al. The MPE/UCB far-infrared imaging Fabry-Perot interferometer (FIFI). Int J Infrared Milli Waves 12, 859–884 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01009647
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01009647